Improvement in rotating projfctiles from smooth-bored ordnance



' Improvements 4yielding 'rHoMeAs coonREM AND criss.V J'Acnsoiton,rnovinnncn'nnonn ISLAND,

lnraovntrm IN RoTAnNe PRoJFcnLEs FROM srviooTHBonEnoRDNANcE.

Y Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. lliwh, dated July 29, i862..

To LIZ whom it may concern.'

`lBe it known that we, THOMAS 'Goonnnivr and CHARLES J AoKsoN, both of Providence, in the county7 ofy Providence and State ofRhode Island, have invented certain new and useful in `Elongated Projectiles for Ordnance; and we do'hereby declare that the' following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accom,- panying drawings, making a part ofthis specification, in whichy -A L l Figurcl is an outside longitudinal viewof an elongated projectile with our improvements.

Fig. 2 is acentral longitudinal section of the saine Fig. 3'isY a transverse section of the saine. Fig. 4 is an outside view of one of the frictionrollers and its supporting-lever.

Si nilar letters of reference indicate corre.- spon ing parts in the several igures.

,This invention has for its object the obtainring of a rotary motion of au elongated projectile on its axis in its discharge from as moothbore gun; and to' this end it consistsprinci pall y, in fitting such a projectile withfrictionrollers so Varranged to protrude through slotsl in the sides of the `projectile froma cavity in the interior thereof that their peripheries may roll in contact Withthe boreof the gun when the projectile is placed therein, and that their planes of rotation will (be oblique to theaXis of -thefsaid lboreandvlof the projectile, such rollers havingsprings or their equivalents applied, in combination with their bearings inthe `cavity of the projectile, for the purpose of holding them with a sufficient but not too unpressure againstl the bore, that in rolling in contact therewith they-may, owing to the `aforesaid Obliquity of theirplanes of rotation, run in aspiral direction, and so cause the projectilevto receivea rotary motionon its axis ini-tsdischarge.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

` A'is the body of the projectile having an external circumference nearlylarge enoughto lit the bore of the gun iu which it is to beused, andhavinga deep cavity, a, in itsrear for the reception of the levers B B B, whiclrconstitute or contain the bearings for the frictionv rollers-l;` C C" and of thefollower D, by which the said levers are held or forced out toa position to cause the friction-rollers toprotrude may be so yarranged as to act connionly adopted in inaking in a suitable manner through the exterioro-f the-body A. The saidlevers B B Bare ittedposite sides ofmortises gg g,V which"arev pro vided in themfor' the reception ofthe friction-rollers. The slots ffprovided in the sidesgof the body A to permit the protrusion' of the friction-rollers, are obliquezto the axis of the projectile to correspond v,with the-ob` liquityof the rollers.k y 4 To facilitate the construction ofthe protect?r ile, the grooves b b1, for the reception o the levers B BB, are made parallel Lwith the axis of the projectile, and the obliquityof the `rollersto the said axis is produced by arrange ing the mortises g g andthe bearings forthe journals e e in oblique positions. Theaugle ofthe Obliquity to the axis is made .lesse or more acute, according as a greater'orless rotary movement of Athe projectile is. desired. The vlfollower D is `made of such forni that a portion ofit enters the cavity a a inf the body lA, and this iportion is made withlas many flat sides as there are friction-rollers, (three rep resented in the drawings,) and ina dovetail mortise in each of said sides there is inserted a piece of india-rubber, spring or elastic bed for thesupport ofone of the levers, to hold or press it outward with a yielding pressure for the purpose of lpressing against the bore of out its respective roller the gun. The said llat sides of the follower upon the levers like wedges, to force them' outward by the driving of the follower into thepro'ectile. lhe body A, the levers, the rollers, nd the follower may allrbe of cast-iron and cast to go' together without any fitting. Thelevers and rollers may be inalleableized by the process malleable iron.

Before loading the gun the follower D is not driven far enough into the body`A and betweenthe levers B B to make the rollers'protrude very far from the slots ff,

h, to constitute a in order that' `in loading too much difliculty may not arise from the frictionof the rollers; but in rinnining-the ball home the follower is caused t0 enter further into the body, andthe mllersare 'f thereby driven ont or pressed harder against the sides of the gun, nnd'this prsnro' will be further ineren'd in thonet of discharging by the pressure of the gnses against the vfollower imlessthe'hend of ythe follower has been previonsly bron'ghtrnp ogninst the of the body A. Thepressnre thus produced insures asnicientffriet-ion .betweenthe peripheries of therollers and-,the surface of the bore of the totheoxisof theuhqrennd prqiectil'e, causes thenjollers tot-revel :ilongthebore in n corre s y lading-oblique: direction, by which means t. ieg o reennsedtofdQScrbe spi mi lines within '-,Tlnxtthefproieetfle nmy notb'e detnehed froifnftlie follower during its ilght, or before it is plneedyin thegnn, u setserew is vingrted t thepoint-jL vinthe eylindrienl portionof the Tonner', midwoy between two of the levers, the 4 j end of which. when Aserewegl np, will enterone 'fof giu'ee mortises ynunle inthe three straight sides'ot',the?followeroppositeeach-otheri The mortises nre of suliieient lengt-1| to allowlhe body A 0 tlieprojectileby means lof nportion of the renizot' thcexterioirbeing. of eenicol ibiinnfflnrgestnt.,thebrise, :ind fitting into tiie'sidbnnd, shown i1-t i in Fig. 2.

llnorderiofget frontpzirt ofthe bund l ensed ,ii beenlnpped round :ement 4bontits anis wliieli'is continued.

the portion i i, when its ends are. riveted gether, as shown at jj in Figfl. The saidring or band is slit in severalplaces, asshownf at kk, to enable it to be expandedeasily in a. f circumferential di rection. 'The 1 inner metal band, G, is made in a Similar way lio/F; but its ends should Ynot be secured together. The interposed band or bands are marde' of strips of canvas, cloth, or felt slit at intervals in lasimilar manner and for a. similar .purpose to the metal bands. ,The bend` E isthe onlyjone, which comes np'on the body .A of theprojecfr ile. .ThosefG and H are contained within the portion ufr which'pwjeetsbeyedlthe were? l the body. The portion ofthe follower D'which doesv notenter the body `is made Tecnica-l, and ofl n size to enter v the innen ring, G,`las shown' in" Fig. 12.' "The expansionot' the peeking eguinstthe'bore of the gun is produced ,by driving` the Ibodytos-ford the' follower; orvice versn,'eitl 1er by illeec't ofrarnining thefprovI ject-ile into the gun 'or by the :met of dischargf" ing it. This kind of 'packing is very flexible', adopts itself rendily to' the 'exact' formfofthe bore to prevent windage around the' exterior of the proieetile, alnd, when applied in combin'ntion with'the followe'rl) to t-he'kind ofpro. jeetile described, it :also prevents`= windage through the cavity gend slots ff, and steadi'es the projectile in its movement on and with the rollers. w 'f' f" \Ve do not claim' the.v fitting of :1i-projectile: with anti-friction rollers to reduce its frictionv in the bore in loading? and discharging; butI i -What we claim as ourinvention, and desire;` .to 'secure by Letters Patent, is'- y1.. Hoving the ronersarrangedto rotante obfliquely in respect to the z ixis of the projectile," g l substantially as herein shown and cdeseribeazl,y

'sothnt the projectileas it nieves thronggh` thev .e 2.' The eombinationof the rollers-C vwith the the levers B and follower D,-\ s nbstentiel]yv es1 herein'shown nnd'described.. l. 3. 'Theelastie beds 1a, in ..combination-' with the rollersC and followerl), es hereinlshoiy-m 

